March 23, 2016

Viking River cruise/tour Imperial Jewels of China    

March 23  journey to Asia

   It was a bit unsettling to hear of the Brussels airport bombings in Belgium yesterday.  At least we are traveling in the opposite direction. There have not been any recent reports, in the West, of terrorist suicide bombings in China.

    We were up early to get to the airport for our 6:25 a.m. flight to Vancouver.  We had plenty of time to walk at the airport before boarding the Airbus 319 plane, managing to log over 2.5 km   Vancouver temperature at 8 a.m. was 11 C and there has been a light rain falling since we landed   After a light breakfast, in Vancouver airport, we walked around the international departure area ensuring that we get 5 miles (since my basic pedometer is not metric) walked today since there will not be much room for walking on the plane. By 2 hours after arriving at Vancouver airport we had walked enough to achieve our daily goals. We found our departure gate waiting area to sit down by a power source and adjusted our watches and electronics ahead 15 hours from Vancouver time, which added a day. So 9:30 a.m. March 23 became 12:30 a.m. March 24 as Shanghai time. Our step count zeroed to a new day. We had over five hours to wait before boarding the 12 hour flight to Shanghai.

   This is our first time flying in a Boeing 787-8, the Dreamliner. This plane has 20 Business class seats, 21 Premium Economy seats, and 210 Economy class seats.  The plane’s windows can be dimmed, by a tint in the window, either individually or from a master switch to block out sunlight rather than pulling down a blind. The humidity and cabin pressure are supposed to be higher than other planes, so that passengers may be a bit more comfortable and be less tired after 12 hours in the air.

   The Chinese currency is called Renmimbu (RMB) meaning “people’s money”.  The main denomination is the yuan.  When we bought Renmimbu, with service fee, we paid about 22 cents for one yuan. The bills are a different colour for each denomination, like the Canadian bills, but unlike the Canadian bills, the different denominations are different in size. Each bill has the same portrait of Chairman Mao Tse-tung (or Mao DeZong).  He was the People's Republic of China leader, from its beginning in 1949 until 1959, with title, Chairman.  We also have taken American money as it is accepted in tourist areas.

  

March 18, 2016

Viking River cruise/tour Imperial Jewels of China    

There are less than 6 days before we go to China.

To travel to China, a visa is required.  We applied for the Chinese tourist visa December 14^th and received it on January 7^th.  The flights were changed twice from the original itinerary given to us in December, when applying for the Chinese visa. 

We ordered Chinese yuan currency for the trip in early March.  It was ready to pick up in less than 4 business days.

On March 15^th, we received our trip package of information including the flights, hotels, river cruise reservations and some notes on itinerary destinations.

I have also made a list of our hotels and included the names in Mandarin in case we need directions back to one of our hotels.

The 13 day itinerary starts in Shanghai, after a flight of about  12 hours, the return flight to Vancouver is 80 minutes shorter.  There is a 13 hour time difference.

We stay for two nights in Shanghai near the waterfront Bund District of 19^th century European style buildings. Tours will include Old Shang hai and Yu Garden plus an evening performance of a Chinese Acrobatic Troupe.

 We will be cruising for five days on part of the Yangtze River, China’s longest river, between Wuhan and Chongqing.  We will float along the misty Three Gorges limestone canyon, including locks near the dam. There will be a tour of the Three Gorges Hydroelectric Dam and a sampan boat voyage into a narrower canyon.  There will be a stop to see a 17^th century temple on the last full day.  We hope to see the Giant Pandas at the Chongqing Zoo, before catching the flight to Xi’an.  Around the area near Xi’an, there have been several Chinese Dynasty capitals dating from 221 BC to the late 900s AD.  During the time of the Silk Road trading route, Xi’an was then called Chang’an (Perpetual Peace). The world famous life-size Terra Cotta Warriors statues, from the tomb of Emperor Qin Shihuang constructed 246–206 BC., are nearby . We will spend several hours at that location.

The journey ends with a few days in Beijing, exploring Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Sacred Way and the Great Wall.

The Internet connections will be sporatic in China and not available at all on the Yangze River cruise.

We will post entires when we can get a good connection.